ZoneAlarm AntiVirus

Product: ZoneAlarm Antivirus Price: $29.95 $19.95 - End of Year Special! Vendor: Zone Labs Editor Rating: 1 star Download ZoneAlarm Antivirus

Pros

+ Includes firewall
+ Inexpensive

Cons

- Not certified by any third-party lab
- Confusing and difficult to use
- Infrequent updates
- Poor customer support

ZoneAlarm AntiVirus Review

We found ZoneAlarm to be one of the poorest AntiVirus solutions that we tested. In additional to questionable effectiveness, the program is difficult to use and is probably not updated nearly as often as other products. In addition, customer support is severely lacking.

Usability

Installation of ZoneLabs AntiVirus was fast and easy, taking less than 5 minutes to finish. Installation is guided by an easy step-by-step wizard. We had to reboot our PC after installation.

Effectiveness

Unlike most other antivirus products, ZoneAlarm AntiVirus is not certified by any of the three major independent testing labs (Virus Bulletic, Checkmark, or ICSA). These tests certify that a particular A/V product successfully detects and disinfects all known viruses without generating false positives. Furthermore, we could not find any independent testing source that has validated this product. While Zone Labs is a reputable company, consumers should be very wary of this product.

(Editor's Note: AntiVirus tests should be performed by specialized testing labs to ensure that dangerous viruses are not released onto the internet.)

Ease of Use

We found ZoneAlarm to be somewhat confusing to use. Unlike other pure AntiVirus products, the ZoneAlarm antivirus engine is built on top of their trademark firewall. While the merging of these two functions should in theory result in a more effective product, we found the program to be intrusive and difficult to use.

For instance, you will be presented with a number of alert popups that have nothing to do with antivirus functionality. If you are already running a firewall (we are, and you should be as well), these popups will present little more than an intrusion on your desktop. The program also asked us questions about our internet connections. Overall, we felt that these questions placed an unfair assumption of technical expertise on the user and definitely placed ZoneAlarm at a usability disadvantage in comparison to other A/V products.

ZoneAlarm AntiVirus frequently interrupts the user with hard-to-understand popups such as this one.

Unlike other antivirus products, ZoneAlarm does little to make the program's functionality transparent to the user. The program hides a number of confusing options windows deep within layers of tab controls. The same goes for the program's scheduler, which is buried deeply within the antivirus advanced options screen.

ZoneAlarm is littered with dozens of confusing screens not typically found in other antivirus products.

Updates

We were unable to confirm how often the virus database is updated. Furthermore, the program does not appear to automatically update itself - you must remember to occasionally download a virus definition update and apply it. Given how critical it is to keep your Antivirus database up-to-date, we feel that this is a strong reason not to use this program.

Other Features

There is a conspicuous lack of additional functionality in ZoneAlarm AntiVirus. For instance, the program does not monitor inbound email, IM, or P2P activity for viruses. It also lacks advanced hueristics to detect potentially new viruses

Customer Support

Zone Labs provides little in the way of customer support, beyond a user forum and an automated technical support program. They do provide phone support, but you will have to pay extra to use it.

Summary

ZoneAlarm AntiVirus is lacking on nearly all fronts. It lacks certification from independent testing labs, sports a complicated interface that will certainly be too difficult for most people to use, and offers little in the way of customer support. We urge our readers to look elsewhere.

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